Ever since I was a child, anytime a lot of world events happened all at once, everyone would start claiming "The End of the World." Inevitably talk would turn to The Rapture, and how we needed to be on watch and prepared so that we would be counted in that number. I lived under this illusion for years, but that is exactly what Rapture is...an illusion.
There is no Biblical basis for this phenomenon except in one text. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 which mentions some vagueness about the dead being called to Heaven first and then those who are still living, but it never says that then everyone else is left behind to go through anything. Plus you have to remember that they all thought the Kingdom of Heaven was coming right then. This concept never appears in the book of Revelation, which most Christians see as the outline for the 'end times.' Read that book and you find we are all in this to the bitter end.
So where does this ever popular myth come from? Most of the concepts of Rapture are fairly recent, starting with great popularity around the mid to late 1600's in America and really taking off toward the mid 1700's (not surprisingly the time where America was trying to fight against the British Monarchy). The first real popular proponents, at least that I've really seen, were a father and son team, the Mathers (Increase and Cotton - yes those are their real names). Cotton, the son, was a Puritan minister in Boston at the time of the Salem Witch Trials and was a very prolific writer of theology for his day, but you can see where his influence is going, right? Puritan fundamentalist, witch trial proponent, c'mon. Then there is Edward Irving, a Scottish minister in the early 1800's (coincidentally after the 2nd Scottish uprisng, American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and many 'epidemics') who was quite involved with thoughts of prophecy, spiritualism and the Apocalypse (he wrote several sermons and lectures on the subject). He was really the first to truly push the thought of a 2 stage return of Christ. The Rapture, then the final coming for those left behind after the Antichrist had risen in power. I'm not quite certain, but he may also have been the preacher who got the concept from a little girl in his congregation who told him about a dream she had where God took all the good people up to Heaven and left everyone else to suffer.
From Irving many of the huge proponents of this thought can be traced back to his teachings. Tim LaHaye, the author of that popular fantasy series Left Behind, uses the concept as outlined in great detail from the Scoffield Bible. A Bible written around the beginnings of the 20th century, right around World War 1 and the devastating Spanish Influenza epidemic. Not to mention we'd just gone through the Age of Reason, Age of Enlightenment, Gilded Age and all these 'ages' that seemed to promise a new and shiny era for humanity, and we can see how that went.
It seems to me, after delving into the concept, that it is a dangerous myth. I believe it is an excuse for Christians to become lazy and isolated from the world. It negates us having to really fight for the future of God's creation because we are constantly holding out that we'll see His return in our lifetime (of course that concept has been around since the inception of the religion). Statistically the number of births among Christian households has declined significantly in the past few years. We are giving birth to less believers, while other religions are growing and thriving (this isn't a call for everyone to go out and mate like rabbits, just trying to make a point). I know a lot of Christians among my acquaintance will say it's because they can't fathom bringing another soul into this world, especially since it will be over soon. *Sigh*
If the whole of Christendom had never heard of this concept of Rapture, how different do you think things would be? Instead of saying, "Oh well they can screw up the planet as much as they want because I won't be here to suffer since I'm going to be called to Heaven before then", would we be trying harder to fix the problems around us? Christ mentions the "end of the age" (not world) and no where in his teachings does he say that we won't all suffer. Oh no, under his teachings we're in this for the long haul.
I also find it worrisome that talks of these concepts are always around times of great uncertainity and superstition. Each millennium, every time there is an illness epidemic, war, natural disasters, the list goes on, these always seem to be the trigger. To my knowledge I've never heard anyone say "Wow, the world is going along pretty peacefully, I hope Rapture comes today." Granted we've never been at absolute peace, but you get the idea. It seems that in times of great distress we'd rather turn our backs on the hardships and hope God just carries us away (kind of like those old Calgon commercials. The lady has had a hard day so she jumps in the bubble bath of Calgon soap and says "Calgon take me away.") that way we don't have to deal with it.
I personally shall take my views from Christ, we're all in this together, every bitter trial and ecstatic triumph. No one will get to escape, it negates the thought of a merciful God that He'd only take a few and let the rest suffer. If that was the case, then why should I even bother with other people? Shouldn't I be looking only to myself? Or if I do help others, am I doing it because I truly want to help or because I want it to look good on my Heavenly resume? If we all took a little time to forget this concept and to focus on actually doing beneficial things and working at helping a hurting world, then in a way wouldn't there be a sort of Rapturous delight in a world that is thriving in a positive and wonderful light? How Rapturous would it be to see everyone getting along and working together, to see that we can reverse the damage and hate we've created in this world? That's the true Rapture to me, the day of peace amongst God's creation. Nothing could be more Rapturous than that.
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